I am baking a 3-tier carrot cake for a wedding and wondering a) how many layers to put in each tier and b) whether to bake deep cakes and torte them (slice them) into 2 or 3 layers for each tier or c) whether to simply bake 2 or 3 individual layers for each tier.

Obviously, the advantage of baking one deep cake for each tier and them torting it into 2 or 3 layers is that it saves time and energy, but the deeper the cakes are the longer they will take to bake/more unpredictable they might be.

My immediate response (and think kindly of this as I have a history of cakeophobia) is to go with the more challenging "torte" (and I didn't know what that really meant until you phrased it) concept as the fillings/frostings would have a better chance to imbue the cake with texture and flavour through the "crumb" sides of the cutting, rather than the "crust" of the baked layer, if that isn't stretching bread language too far._________________Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

Speaking from experience (having made a grand total of one wedding cake ) I agree with David: split the layers, don't bake separate cakes for each tier. It's so much less hassle, plus you have less weight to deal with (an important consideration when stacking the tiers).

LGT..I agree...splitting is the way I'd go...joyous baking of THE cake! What a treat to make a wedding cake...when's the wedding...food takes in energy me thinks...

How well I recall making a Dobostorta for my mother-in-law..gem of a dame...alas the baking of all those layers was a task and a half...one of my fav cakes...

all the very very very best with the baking ...do let us know how you go.._________________"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson